The Barefoot Executive is a live-action film released by the Walt Disney Company in 1971 starring Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, Wally Cox, Heather North and John Ritter (in his film debut), about a pet chimpanzee, named Raffles, who can predict the popularity of television programs. It was one of the "gimmick comedies" (geared towards children with a touch of adult humour for older viewers) Disney was known for in the 1960s and 1970s, and was frequently shown on the Wonderful World of Disney in the 1980s.

Plot

A satire of network television, the movie follows the adventures of an ambitious mailroom clerk, Steven Post (Russell) at the fictional UBC Network who discovers his girlfriend Jennifer Scott's (Heather North) pet chimpanzee has the supernatural ability to predict which television programs will receive the highest ratings, in which he blows a raspberry to shows that will bomb, or claps his hands in applause to shows that will be hits.

Steven smuggles the chimp into the UBC building when he is being shown various movies to show, and watches as the chimp gives his vote from the camera room. However his first attempt proves unsuccessful as the executives do not agree with Steven's (actually the chimp's) prediction that a movie named "Devil Dan" will draw large audiences, so Post has to secretly enter UBC's footage room to switch the films, causing the executives to realize Steven was right in the first place when Devil Dan propels UBC to first place in the ratings war. Post successfully masks the chimp's abilities as his own and rises to vice president of UBC, now the top rated area network. However, this also creates suspicion and resentment among UBC executives, mainly because they believe Post is too young to merit the title of vice president. Their resentment reaches a breaking point at a television award ceremony where Steven Post receives the title of "Executive of the Year" and the emcee mistakenly identifies Post as the president of UBC.